


A Silent Thief

by SmokedJoker



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Muteness, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 19:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16666960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmokedJoker/pseuds/SmokedJoker
Summary: "Actions speak louder than words." This was always the case for Akira Kurusu. Now it seemed those words would be put to the test when he enters a very special relationship.





	1. Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ann Takamaki. A girl Akira Kurusu always thought was very beautiful. When Akira came to know about her more and more, he soon came to realize he'd fallen into the hole called "love". In her moment of sadness, he chose to comfort her in the only way he knew how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So....I wanted to try this out as the idea just kept lingering on around my head, hope you guys enjoy! Also the rating might be temporary as I plan for some smutty scenes in the future. Don't know how to rate it exactly yet. Just wanted to let you know!

It was a tearful goodbye as Shiho passed through the door. It was bad enough this all happened to her, but now her best friend was suffering as well. She was about to go downstairs when she noticed someone leaning against the wall. It was Akira Kurusu. He had helped Ann with taking Shiho to the school roof. Akira was silent as he saw Shiho. Shiho softly smiled as she knew why he waited outside the door and let Ann and her have a private talk.

"…You should go…. She's waiting for you…"

While Ann wasn't literally waiting for him, Shiho knew that Akira could be the only one to calm down her best friend. Akira nodded his head as he went past Shiho. Shiho waited until the door was closed before sighing to herself.

"It's too bad, he's like that…. I'm sure he could have become a smooth talker…."

Shiho smiled as she knew her friend was now in good hands. Shiho descended downstairs leaving the two completely by themselves.

* * *

Ann stood on the school roof by herself, crying. Her best friend had just left, and they wouldn't be able to see each other as often anymore. She heard the door open behind her and she turned around to see the only other person who came with them.

"A-Akira…"

Akira was someone Ann trusted a lot as well, so he was the first person who came to mind when she needed someone's help in getting Shiho up here. Ann noticed Akira had a sad expression on his face. Ann wiped the tears from her eyes as she gave him a warm smile.

"I'm fine! Really! It'll just be a while before I can see Shiho again. Besides, there's a ton of stuff I need to do before I can see her again."

Ann started speaking about her aspirations of becoming the number one model in the world and all the difficulties of accomplishing that. She said she wanted to do all this to help anyone who felt weak in any way. She brought up Shiho again in that regard, but as soon as she did she started tearing up again.

"Dammit, I told myself I wouldn't cry…I guess…I'm alone again….."

Ann had moved a lot around her childhood, so she never had the chance to make those close friends who she should treasure. Ann felt that time had arrived once more. Only this time, it was her close friend who left her. As the thought plagued her mind, she was suddenly embraced by someone. There was only one other person who was here with her so….

"Akira…."

Ann felt one of Akira's arms around her waist and the other one on her head as if trying to soothe her. Ann started to cry into his shoulder as she let those tears she had been holding back come out. He was always there for her and yet didn't ask for anything in return. She always felt guilty for taking his time away and wouldn't mind if he rejected one of her invites once, but he never did. He always seemed to want to spend time with her. Akira was just like Shiho in that regard, before what happened to her. With those thoughts in mind, Ann said something she had just said to Shiho, but the meaning was different.

"Akira…..I love you."

There was a brief period of silence between the two as if they were letting the words spoken by Ann sink in.  
  
The first one to break the stillness was Ann. She suddenly struggled to get out of Akira's embrace and backed away from him. She had a look of surprise and a slight blush on her face as well.

"Wha-What did I just say?!"

Akira had a surprised look on his face as well but smiled as he saw Ann's reaction to her own confession. He brought his hand up. His hand was mostly closed except for his pinky, index finger, and his thumb which extended outwards. Ann grew confused at the gesture.

"You know I don't know sign language!"

Although Ann said that, she had a pretty good guess on what Akira meant. Ann didn't even really mean what she said, she was the one who said it, so of course, she knew what she said. Akira smiled again, and this time did a different gesture. He pointed at the left side of his chest, but Ann understood he meant his heart. He had both his hands in a gentle fist and crossed them over his heart. The part that got Ann's heart beating though was when he pointed at her. Midway through his gesture, Ann realized that Akira was basically doing the same thing that she did. He confessed to her twice and she only now realized. She blushed at the thought, and while she was distracted he came and gave her another loving embrace. She panicked a bit.

"He-Hey! What are you…."

Ann stopped mid-way as she took in the feeling of his embrace. Akira was bigger than her and that gave a sense of security. Her feelings of loneliness went away as she realized there was someone here for her. Akira did the same thing again as he soothed her again. Ann calmed down as the time passed by.

"….I really love you…..Like REALLY, Really!"

Ann said as she was still in his embrace. She felt his head moved a bit as if acknowledging her confession. Ann became a bit nervous, but she wanted a clear answer from him.

"…Do you feel the same?..."

Akira was mute. He couldn't speak due to an illness he's had since birth. Of course, besides that he's healthy, but it was something that all the Thieves took a while to get used to. Their leader couldn't speak so during battles Makoto would take the role, but everything else was regulated to him.

Ann waited with bated breath as he gave some kind of indication. As she waited, she felt something on her cheek. It felt like a pair of lips were pressing against her cheeks. Ann knew the feeling since her mother and father would always give her a peck on the cheek whenever they left for their jobs, but now it wasn't her mother or father who was giving her a kiss. She blushed at the realization and pulled away from Akira a bit while still being in his embrace to look at the face he was making. He had a bit of a smug smile on his face as if saying "Is that clear enough?" Ann lightly slammed her fist on Akira's chest.

"THA-THAT WAS TOO SUDDEN!"

Ann yelled. She didn't get a chance to even know about that kiss on the cheek ahead of time or get the chance to relish it. While Ann felt she was jesting, Akira suddenly looked a bit sorry and let go of Ann. Ann realized Akira misunderstood her and quickly wanted to recover.

"Wait! I'm not saying I don't like it! It's just you didn't give me the chance to be prepared!"

Akira looked relieved when Ann said that. Akira took Ann's hand and led her to the bench on the school roof. Ann gripped his hand as butterflies started appearing in her stomach. This was it, they were a couple now.

"So…I guess we're a couple now huh….."

Ann saw Akira nod his head with a warm smile. Ann rested her head on Akira's shoulder.

"Thanks for being here, Akira."

Ann felt Akira's head rest on her own. Ann smiled as she relished this bond she now had with Akira. Akira reached for Ann's other hand and rested their hands on Ann's lap. It truly gave Ann such happiness to see Akira act this way. Because of his disability, Akira's presence was lessened more so than others. He couldn't talk so it was always him moving his body about to indicate he wanted to say something, and that could be a bit jarring to some people. So, in a way, Ann felt Akira's emotions much more right now then if he even could speak.

"..Do you feel we should tell the others about this?"

Ann was talking about everyone else in the Phantom Thieves. Akira shrugged and pointed at Ann.

"Are you saying I should decide?"

Ann said. Akira nodded his head to show his agreement. Ann thought about it long and hard.

"…We should hold off on it, Ryuji would tease us, Yusuke would be asking to paint us or something, Makoto might try and tell us to restrain ourselves, Morgana…..that's pretty self-explanatory…., and Futaba-

Ann felt Akira tug at her shoulder and she turned to look and saw him pointing towards her phone.

"??? What? it's just my phone?"

Akira went on his phone and brought up and an old text log.

{Alibaba: I've been monitoring your phones, it's not that hard.}

"Ah! So that means?!"

Akira nodded his head. Ann palmed her forehead.

"I'm such an idiot….."

Akira shook his head at Ann's chastising of herself. Akira got on his phone. Ann soon received a text notification.

{Akira: It's not your fault. I know both of us didn't expect this happy mistake to happen.}

Ann giggled at his wording.

"Well, don't call it a mistake. I know I'm not regretting the fact that I said that."

Ann gave Akira a kiss on the cheek as well as he was distracted by the old text logs. He was a bit surprised but eventually held his hand to his cheek as he was reminiscing the feeling. Ann giggled at his actions.

"Revenge for before!"

They continued to act like this until it was getting late. Akira made sure to walk Ann to the train station. As Ann left Akira's sight, he suddenly grew anxious. What if she ran into trouble or what if trouble started looking for her? Akira took his phone out. Text messages wouldn't alleviate his anxiousness. He looked at the call function that he never used before. What would be the point? He couldn't speak, but he just pressed the call function on Ann's name.

"Akira?"

Ann's confused voice was brought to his ears. Akira couldn't say anything so there was only silence.

"Did he call me on accident?..."

Akira wanted to say no, but it obviously wouldn't come out. Akira quickly went to his texting app and sent her a message.

{Akira: I'm just worried about you….}

"….Okay. I'll stay on the phone then…Still, what should I talk about then?"

Ann was touched at Akira's message. She could feel his anxiousness and decided she would stay on the phone, just so he wouldn't worry himself. She talked about things that she could freely speak about on the subway train and on the walk home. Once she arrived home, Ann told Akira she had arrived safely.

"I'm at my front door, so I'm safe okay?"

Ann giggled sweetly as she let her worrying boyfriend know she was safe. Another notification sounded from Ann's phone as she pulled it away from her ear to check it.

{Akira: Okay….Good night, Ann….. Love you.}

"….Love you too, Akira."

Ann hung the phone up as a slight blush was on her face, but she had the sweetest smile as well. She sighed as she remembered the other part of today.

"I wish they didn't happen on the same day….."

Ann went inside her house as she started getting ready for bed. It was an exhausting day for her. One part was the sad farewell of her best friend, Shiho and the other part was the beginning of her new relationship with her new boyfriend, Akira.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, I just had this idea going on in my head and I just felt I had to write it down. Seen that a few others have tried it out and felt it wouldn't be too bad to try it out. Also, my other work is going good, but I just couldn't get into the groove of writing it like I used to because.....well, this! This idea was lingering on and on that i had to just write it down, not that this one wasn't the first, but the other ones didn't translate well onto writing, but this one did! I also felt I kinda of wanted a breather from the other one(despite the fact it's coming close to that confession). So yeah, hope you guys are patient with that one. Should be getting more writing time in December so hoping on that to clear my head a bit.
> 
> Anyway, about this work. It's focus will be more on Akira and Ann rather than the whole cast or story like my other one, but they'll also appear here and there. I guess it'll be episodic, but maybe some wont be, I don't know, but all i know is this will be where i just write some fluff between these two. 
> 
> This work will be my "breather" work so when i don't feel like writing the other work, i can come to this one and relax and not worry that much about story. But who knows? I might just get another idea I want to share. Hope you guys enjoyed this work and hope it's an alright substitute for a chapter of TTR not coming out this week(It's half finished, but I can't seem to cross that final stretch). Thanks for reading!


	2. A Secret.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fun exchange at school, a fun exchange in a PT meeting and the punishment to follow afterwards.

School was going on as usual as Ms. Kawakami was the one teaching in class right now. Ann had her left hand on her left cheek as she used it to hold her head up. If not, she might have it fall down from how bored she was right now. As she was thinking how nice it would be for the class to end early, she felt someone tap on her back. Ann smiled as she knew there was only one person who could do this. She turned to her left to make it seem like she was looking out the windows, but this was how Ann and Akira communicated in class. She looked on the edge of the window and found a small piece of folded paper she was looking for. She took it carefully without anyone noticing and opened it up.

[Having trouble staying awake? I see your head bobbing down every few minutes?]

Ann smiled as she read his teasing. She wrote a reply on the piece of paper.

[At least I'm paying attention! Why's your attention on me?!]

Ann grinned as she put it back at the window edge. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the paper be taken from the person behind her. After a couple of seconds, she noticed the paper came back.

_"That was quick."_

Ann took the paper back and held herself back from laughing at what was written.

[How can I pay attention when the most beautiful woman in the world is right in front of me! (ಠ‿↼) ...besides you're not paying attention, your grades can attest to that. Guess the guy whose number one in our grade here, has to give you some lessons after school  (･ω<)☆]

_"This cheekily little…"_

Ann kept the paper as she didn't want the risk of them being caught to increase. Ann had a smile on her face and was awake for the rest of class.

* * *

"So how many targets do we have today?"

Makoto asked Morgana as Akira silently sat by next to Ann. Futaba hadn't recovered yet from her change of heart so the team could only wait until she awoke to stop Medjed. Yusuke and Ryuji were looking at Morgana as well as he went over the targets. Ryuji wanted to get some action going on today, and Yusuke was in need of some inspiration for his art. The table was pulled up to the couch Ann and Akira were sitting on. Ann was paying attention as well….until something else forced it away.

_"!!!...Akira…what are you doing?!"_

Ann felt her hand be held by Akira. He had a cool smile on his face as he faced Makoto, acting like he was paying attention to the conversation. While their hands were under the cover of the table if Ryuji or Yusuke, who were on either side of the table, were to look over at them seriously, it would be over. Ann glanced at Akira and saw his cool composure. She could feel his fingers interlocking with hers in any way he could. More like he didn't care about locking fingers, he just wanted to experience the feeling of her fingers over and over again. Akira enjoyed playing with her hands and fingers like this and while Ann loved to do the same as well, now wasn't the time to do that. Ann tried to discreetly pull her hand away from Akira, but that's when Ann felt Akira's hand held her hand tightly as if not letting her to have the chance.

_"You dummy!"_

Ann tried not to look agitated, but the other blonde seemed to have taken notice. Her acting wasn't the best anyway.

"What's up, Ann? Something you don't get?"

Ann was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

"Oh-Ah-Ummm, could you repeat that last target again, Morgana?"

"I don't mind, but you seem a little distracted? Is there something wrong?"

Everyone's eyes were on Ann, including the guy who was responsible for this! Ann saw that Akira had a puzzled look on his face as if he was wondering the same thing.

_"This is all your fault!... AND YOU'RE STILL HOLDING MY HAND!"_

Ann had to think of something to get her and Akira out of this mess. Ann lifted one of her fingers from her free hand to her cheek as she nervously scratched it.

"O-Oh…its nothing, really!"

"…It doesn't sound that way."

Makoto said. Being a sub-leader of sorts, she also worried about the team's well-being. Ann cursed Akira in her heart.

 _"You're so going to get it later!!!_ I-I ummm was distracted by a notice."

"Notice?"

Everyone curiously said.

"Umm yeah….the crepe shop I frequent said they were selling a new crepe for a limited time and I…I wanted to go…"

Everyone became silent. Maybe they were realizing for the first time how much sweets were on the girl's mind. Ann blushed at their silence. She felt so embarrassed at that moment. Morgana coughed, hoping to get his dream girl out of the situation.

"I see, then his name is….."

Morgana went on to explain the target they previously finished talking about to Ann. Ann seriously listened to Morgana because she didn't want a repeat of what just happened. Ann could once again feel Akira's fingers twiddling around hers.

* * *

Ann was walking in Shibuya with Akira, only she was giving him the cold shoulder for his antics from earlier. The team felt she wouldn't be focused on fighting at all so they call off the mementos exploration just for her. Ann never felt so guilty. Akira felt a bit embarrassed for what he did, but it's not like days like this didn't happen. Ryuji would cancel last minute at times to help his mother, sometimes Yusuke's inspiration for art would hit and he wouldn't come to the meet-ups, and Makoto had student council duties that came out of nowhere. It was a first for Ann, so the team didn't mind it. Akira tried to reach for her hand, but she pulled it away before he could grab it.

"I'm mad that you did that….."

Ann said as she didn't look at him. Akira was starting to feel maybe he did go too far in his teasing today. He brought out his phone. A few seconds later, Ann's phone rang with a text notification, except she already knew who it was from. Still, in the end, Ann pulled it out to see what he said.

(Akira: I'm sorry about what I did（◞‸◟）, I just…well wanted to(´∵｀)  ….)

Ann sighed as she saw the message.

"I like doing it too, but that was too risky! What if everyone found out right there?"

Ann asked Akira. A few seconds later, another notification came.

(Akira:…I trusted that you would find a way out of it (b^_^)b…and the worst thing that happens is that they find out.)

Ann looked at Akira.

"So it's fine if they find out? We made a promise to not let them know until later down the road. Remember those complications? And besides….."

Ann sighed at herself.

"How can you think I can fool everyone? Today I got lucky, but if you do something like that again!"

Ann angrily pointed at Akira. Akira put his hands up, showing no resistance to her scolding. Ann sighed again.

"My acting's terrible and I know it….."

Akira shook his head at Ann.

"It is and I know it, you don't have to lie to me."

Akira looked at his phone and wrote another message to Ann.

(Akira: Maybe it needs work ( ˘･з･), but it's not completely bad.-

Ann angrily looked at Akira after reading part of the message.

"You're supposed to support me!"

Akira pointed at her phone after getting yelled at by Ann. She discovered there was more to the message.

-Still, your acting still worked in the end as always right? With Yusuke, Iida, and just now. All I've seen is a perfect track record from your acting       (σﾟ∀ﾟ)σ.)

Ann started thinking about it. Her attempt to unlock Madarame's door with Yusuke, getting information out of Iida about Kaneshiro, and she had to admit she did think quickly to get them out of that situation that Akira-

"I-I guess so…but still! Don't do something like that again!"

Ann pouted angrily as she looked away from Akira. Akira felt helpless now. Ann took a glance at his "miserable" appearance and smiled. Her smile turned back to a frown as she wasn't going to let him off easy. She had to act out the part of an angry girlfriend.

"Well, since I had to lie to everyone else about a crepe, you're actually going to have to buy me one then!"

Akira nodded his head as he accepted this fine from Ann. Ann wanted the most expensive crepe which coincidentally was a limited time crepe. Akira got her that one as he closed one eye at the price. How could one crepe be so expensive? Ann bit into her lavish crepe as they found a spot to sit down.

"MHHHHMMMM Shwo Gwood!"

Ann said with an ecstatic smile. Akira could feel the sweetness of the crepe just from Ann's smile or maybe it was just the crepe had a boosting effect on Ann's already sweet smile. Akira felt seeing that smile was worth the price itself. Ann saw Akira look at her, and mistook it for him wanting the crepe, she shook her head, refusing to give him some.

"Nope, this is my reward for getting us out of that mess you made."

Ann continued to eat the crepe peacefully while seemingly taunting Akira. Akira rolled his eyes and smiled as he watched Ann enjoy her extravagant crepe. After she finished, Ann stood up from her seat.

"Well, I think I'm done for today. You're forgiven."

Ann said as she started looking at the crepe stand. Akira rolled his eyes at this girl's craving's for sweets, but he didn't hate that about her, it was just another thing he enjoyed seeing. In fact, he was the same in some way. Akira looked at his phone and typed something into it and hit send. While Ann's attention was on the crepe stand, Akira then snuck up next to her and landed a peck on her cheek. Ann held her hand to her cheek as she was a bit surprised and suddenly was pulled into an embrace from Akira.

"He-Hey, do you think-

Ann's phone interrupted her as it rang. Akira loosened his hold just so Ann could get her phone out. Ann took it out and saw Akira's message.

(Akira: I'm craving some sweets too（*´▽`*). And think I see a pretty sweet girl in front of me right now. (・ω<)♥ )

Ann couldn't help laughing a bit at Akira's cheesy line.

"Sorry, I'm on hold until someone learns to control their cravings."

Ann smugly smiled as she tapped her finger on Akira's nose and broke out of his embrace. Akira pouted but didn't argue Ann for more. Ann laughed as she saw Akira's expression. Hopefully, this taught him that he should control these urges of his. The day ended with that, but Akira wasn't left with nothing for the day because Ann gave him an incentive to try harder next time with a kiss on the cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can tell....I had fun with emoji's this chapter. I just discovered I could use them and my god they're so fun to use. I think it also helps in expressing Akira more since well, he can't talk in this fic. Sure there's some body language i could use, but I originally was going for a more silly Akira/Ren in this fic, so these emoji's are going to help a lot with that. Tell me your thoughts about them. Too much or did you like them as well? I could cut down on them if it bothers some people, but I just had fun with them now since this is the first chapter to use them. Hope you enjoy the chapter!


	3. Learning the ropes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ann works toward her goal to be the number one model in the world but she knows it all begins with the first step and that first step is going to help her out with Akira as well.

***Ann's Apartment***

Inside her own room, Ann was getting everything she needed for today’s date with Akira. As Ann looked at the last thing she was going to put in her bag, she smiled in anticipation. Ann wondered how she should bring it up with him.

“This can also be considered working towards my dream so it’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

Ann placed the last item inside her bag and started heading off for her destination. Her goal today was to surprise Akira with her newfound knowledge despite how little she’s learned so far.

* * *

 

  
***Inokashira Park***

  
The light breeze brushed against Akira’s unkempt hair as he sat on a bench. While he gazed at the pond’s surface, couples would go by in swan boats which would make him feel very jealous his own girlfriend wasn’t here right now. Akira would always get like this while he was waiting for Ann as his love for her would always make him restless. Just as he was wondering when she’d show up, he saw the familiar blond pigtails in the distance down the trail he came by. Akira instantly stood up and waved at her to which she responded with her own wave and quickening her pace. They inched closer and closer until they were facing each other directly. Akira waited for that sweet voice she always had, greeting him in the usual manner, but oddly enough it never came.

“………”

The silence was the only thing that was between them. Ann just stood there and smiled as she looked at Akira while he was confused by the whole thing. Just as Akira was about to attempt to take out his phone to ask what was wrong, Ann stopped him from doing so. Ann took a deep breath and looked at Akira while he was confused by her behavior. She decided to go back to the bench with Akira so they didn’t have to stand up.

Ann slowly started doing motions with her hands, some hesitance could be noticed by the awkwardness, but she still tried to finish what she thought she wanted to say. As soon as Ann started moving her hands, realization flashed in Akira’s eyes as he understood what Ann was trying to do. The motion was all too familiar to Akira as he carefully tired watching Ann’s every move. Ann noticed the sudden focus on her hands and blushed in response. She was still a beginner in sign language while Akira had learned it at a very young age, so she was starting to feel like a babbling baby that was attempting to have a mature conversation with an adult.

Akira noticed the slight embarrassment Ann was going through, but instead of laughing at her cuteness, he encouraged her to continue. After noticing his encouragement, Ann slowly started again. After a couple of minutes, she finally stopped and looked at him with anticipation. She twirled her finger in her hair as she wondered how she did.

“Did’ja get it?”

Akira had a smile on his face as saw Ann’s excitement. Just as he was about to pull his phone out again, Ann stopped him for the second time. Ann shook her head in a playful way. She sandwiched Akira’s hands in-between her own and brought them to their eye-level.

“I want to “hear” it from you.”

Ann noticed Akira’s eyes shake slightly as he heard her. She smiled and waited in anticipation as she watched Akira get his hands out of her hold. She watched Akira get ready, and like Akira, she put her all her heart into reading his gestures. Akira smiled and did the gestures slowly so Ann could distinguish them apart, though Ann was still a beginner, so somewhere in the middle…….

“Wait!”

Akira stopped mid-motion. Ann suddenly reached into her bag and fished out a book. As she started browsing through it, Akira read the title and immediately understood the content. It was a book about sign language. His heart melted as he saw her serious effort into learning the only language he could “speak”. He was fine with the way things were, but it seemed Ann didn’t want to have their conversations reduced to just their phones. Ann wanted to “hear” it from Akira directly. It made it that much more special.

In the midst of his thoughts, he saw Ann slap her forehead in light frustration.

“Of course it was that word! Gahh!! Idiot!”

As Ann was chiding herself, Akira pulled her closer which surprised her, but she quickly started enjoying the embrace when he started cuddling with her. Ann giggled as she enjoyed her “teddy bear”.

“One day, I’ll be able to understand you completely…and we can have a full conversation without any awkward pauses.”

Ann felt Akira nod his head against her cheek. Ann pulled his cheek in for a quick peck on the cheek.

“C’mon! I want to try and get some more hand signs down before my next class! My instructor said we’re having a test in our next meet-up.”

Akira gave her a probing glance after hearing about this.

“..What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Akira paused before a second before doing another set of hand signals. Ann was confused after the signals but after thinking about it, she rolled her eyes.

“Oh C'mon! It’s a woman that’s teaching me. Why does it matter?”

Akira didn’t “say” anything and looked away. Ann could imagine Akira sulking about it and smiled as it made him much more lovable. She latched onto his arm.

“Idiot. I wouldn’t fall for anyone other than you, so stop being so possessive.”

Akira rolled his eyes at Ann’s comment. Ann just didn’t know how dangerous her looks were. Sure, Akira knew Ann wasn’t that kind of person, he was just mainly suspicious about the other party. As a man, Akira knew that morals sometimes didn’t matter to other guys.

As if not noticing Akira’s odd behavior, she waited for Akira to continue his hand signals.

“C’mon! This is the first step to becoming the number one model! You said you’d help me, right?”

Ann’s enthusiasm brought a smile to Akira, as he discarded his previous thoughts. They continued with their conversation and Akira continued to help Ann study for the rest of the day. As Akira saw how serious Ann was about studying, it made him feel she was definitely the one. The contrast between the girl in school and the girl before him made him think he would definitely do everything in his power to make her happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after a while, I finally managed to make and post a chapter. The main hold-up was just having trouble locking down what I wanted this little slice of life series to be. I had made chapters for this before, but didn't post them as....they didn't really fit what the theme of this series was. Fluffy and short. I have like three different "versions" of chapter 3, but didn't end up using them as they aren't what I wanted when I made this fic. 
> 
> So now, while there won't be release schedule for this fic, I should have an easier time making new chapters for this fic now that I know what I should focus on for it.
> 
> Also! After looking into it more, there appears to be more than one sign language. Like I used to think it was a universal language,but looking into it now, there's a version for each language(I smacked myself on the head for how obvious it looks now), so yeah, My bad on the previous two chapters. Of course it's a small thing, but maybe someone got irritated at the misconception. It makes sense since I'm writing in English to use ASL, but from now on, I'll be more attentive to this sort of stuff for the fic.
> 
> Hope you guys/gals enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading!


	4. A Serene Boat Ride.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quiet, peaceful boat ride becomes anything but that.

***Inokashira Park***

 

What was it about the peace and quiet in Inokashira Park that just suddenly changed over the past few months? The peace and quiet that the lush scenery displayed was still there, but there’s something else now added to the mix. It wasn’t there when she came to the park with Shiho. Even those days where she came by herself, they didn’t compare to the ‘peace and quiet’ she experienced when she was with him. It all started when she started coming to the park with him. Which was odd because he didn’t really disturb the tranquil mood of the park, he only seemed to enhance it somehow, making it more relaxing then it already is.

Ann got into the swan-shaped paddle boat. It was her first time getting in one of these things, usually, they’re only for couples or family members possibly, but Ann never had the chance to experience it until this moment.

As Ann got herself comfortable, the boat rocked a bit more suddenly. She looked to where she entered to see Akira sit down right next to her. He seemed just as curious as she was as he started giving his surroundings a fascinated look. The amusing sight of him closely looking around made her feel all kinds of joy. Like a little kid who was excited to go on an amusement park ride for the first time.

“Hey, country boy! You seem mighty confused there.” Ann started speaking in an odd accent. The accent made Akira roll his eyes as this wasn’t the first time she made fun of him for being dazzled by something in Tokyo.

“Oh C’ mon. Stop sulking. I’m sorry!” Ann giggled as she saw him turn away from her. “You just looked so cute…like always. It’s my first time too so we can be clueless together. “ Ann latched onto his arm and stuck out her tongue in a playful manner.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Ann’s playful face and budged. He held her hand as he started looking around again. Akira always saw people using these boats, mostly couples, and was determined to take Ann on one whenever the chance arose. It’d be a nice memory to look back on and they might even like it enough to try it more often. Any excuse to spend more time together was Akira’s honest thoughts.

“So I think we just start pedaling now. Just like using a bike, right?” Ann put her feet right on the pedals but waited for Akira’s signal to go. “To tell you the truth, I’ve never ridden a bike so, I guess I can’t say that. Just start moving our feet, right?” Ann looked towards Akira for confirmation, though what she saw put a grin on her face.

“What’s got you lookin so smug?” Akira currently crossed his arms in confidence as he put his own feet on the pedals. Ann rolled her eyes at his attempt to show off, but she did always like seeing him like this. It was Akira being him. “Please, this isn’t something you can be so proud of. I’m pretty sure even kids can do it.”

Akira proceeded to point at Ann. “Hold up! I might have said that, but I’m pretty sure I can get the hang of it if I tried!” Ann started pedaling and looked at Akira with her own smug expression. As if the simple action was worth being proud of even though she was just downplaying the action a couple moments ago. “See? Easy pesSAY?!!!” Ann’s eyes went wide as she and Akira quickly turned the steering wheel since when she started pedaling, they were on a head-on collision with the edge of the river. After the slight scare and getting their boat out of harm's way, Ann rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

“Whew! I forgot we had to steer this thing too.” Ann noticed they’d draw a bit of attention from passengers on other boats passing by. “Sorry, it was supposed to start off relaxing and I went and almost made us crash in the first couple of minutes!” Ann tried to laugh it off before sighing to herself. “God, I’m such an idiot.” Ann felt the hand that was still holding onto her tighten. She looked at Akira to see him shaking his head. Akira nodded his head towards the edge of the river, prompting Ann to look that direction as well.

“Hey! Look there’s our favorite spot!” Ann said as she saw a familiar section of the park. Her and Akira always ended up in this area because it was one of the more relaxing places in the park.

“We always used to watch the people float on by us, but now we’re on the other side.” Ann looked back at Akira. “Feels fulfilling doesn’t it? Like now we can see what they were seeing.” Akira nodded gently in response to Ann’s statement. Still, Akira felt like Ann missed out on saying one thing. Akira pointed towards something, hoping Ann would take her attention off him for just one second.

“Oh? What is it? I don’t see anything?” Ann starts shifting her head, side to side, hoping to see whatever it was that Akira wanted her to look at, but after a couple seconds of seeing nothing special, she gave up. It was just some families having some picnics. She turned back to face Akira. “What was it you wanted-Umph!

Ann’s words were stopped mid-sentence as another pair of lips covered her own. After a moment of slight shock, she closed her eyes to wholly focus on the sensation of the kiss. A solid three minutes passed by before Akira parted his lips from Ann’s. A slight gasp of air escaped Ann.

“You always gotta be quiet in everything you do, don’t you?” Ann chided, though the grin on her face told another story. “Is that why you told me to look over there? To surprise me?” Akira didn’t agree nor disagree, but his calm smile, that tried to hide the fact, was all Ann needed to understand him. Ann giggled at the face.

“I guess it wouldn’t be fun riding this thing if you weren’t here.” Ann took another look around her surroundings in the boat. She imagined the boat ride to be a bit more….romantic, but with the current surroundings, it’d be impossible to get that mood going easily. “There’s really a lot of people out on the river today huh?”

Ann and Akira weren’t the only ones out on the river. Family’s, couples, friends, even a man with his dog were out on the river. It wasn’t exactly the spot to be all alone with that special someone as there were people who might have the same idea. Ann and Akira were journeying through the park river. Enjoying a different view than the one they usually saw, Ann was giddily pointing out all kinds of things while they floated by.

“Look! There’s the trail me and Shiho used to go by a lot!”

Ann pointed out a random shrine. “I hear if we start acting all couple-like in front of this shrine, we’ll break up no matter what! I didn’t believe that kind of crap but…..well I guess I shouldn’t be saying that ever since the metaverse happened so let's be careful with this one. Don't want that actual rumor to turn out real or something.”

“We really don’t have any privacy here, do we? Look at all those people on the bridge over there! I should have assumed we wouldn’t get any alone time. You don’t think they’ll snap a photo of us together right? N-Not that I mind but ya know? We’re a secret now.”

“Awww! Look at the mama duck with her babies!!!!” Ann quickly turned to Akira. “Do we have anything to feed them!!! We gotta have something!!!” Ann quickly went looking in her bag and found some cookies she held onto for a snack. Just as Ann attempted to urge the mother duck and her ducklings, Akira held her hand down to stop her.

“Why can’t I?!!!” Ann wanted to get a closer look and knew this would work, but Akira was stopping her for some reason. He formed an x with his arms.

“Not allowed?! What do you me-….Oh, right….” Ann remembered the sign outside the dock where the boats were at. One of the rules listed stated that to not feed the wildlife. Ann looked at the baby ducklings with immense regret.

“C-C’mon, Akira!!! We’re rebels anyway so what’s the harm in……o-okay, stop looking at me like that….” Ann said as Akira’s calm smile made her back down. It was only his smile, and yet Ann could interpret so many different meanings from it.

“For such a Phantom Thief, you really like playing the goody two shoes.” Ann mindlessly said which earned a forehead flick from Akira. “Ow! What was that for!” Akira brought his finger to his lips and shushed Ann. After a couple moments of thought, Ann realized why she had been shushed.

“Oh! Oops. Hehe, I went a bit Ryuji there huh?” Blabbering on about being a Phantom Thief. A very Ryuji thing to do. Ann took a quick careful look around and sighed in relief when she noticed no one overheard them.

“Sorry. I’ve been saying that a lot today, huh?” As they enjoyed their time float along the river, Ann started realizing the fact she’d been a lot more careless than she usually is. It seemed Akira noticed it as well because she caught him giving her this questioning look as if trying to figure out the reason.

“I really can’t hide anything from you, huh?” Ann took a deep breath. “I guess I’m just really nervous, you know?” Akira tilted head, Ann could imagine question mark being above his head and the thought made her smile a little. “The deadline’s coming pretty close and people are talking about how if Medjed are going to go through with their threats. I hear at least someone talking about it at school every day now.”

Ann closed her eyes in thought. Ann hoped Futaba would wake up soon. She was their only hope now.

Ann felt the hand holding hers tighten as Akira reached out to grab the other spare hand. “Yeah, I know. We just gotta believe right?” His thoughts, she could somehow read them like a book and that made their relationship special to her. Here she was being nervous and yet he was probably trying to enjoy the date they were on.

Ann shook her head in an attempt to ward off the negative thoughts. “Sorry. Let’s just enjoy ourselves for now, I need you to do something to get me outta this mood!”

Akira’s eyes lit up at the request and his already wide smile grew more as he closed into Ann’s face. Ann realized what he was doing and took a quick glance around. “Aki-Akira?! There so many people-Umph!”

Ann’s lips were taken once more. It was at that moment, Ann had one thought. _“Why is it at times like this is when he doesn’t care about his surroundings….”_ The thought was quickly tossed aside as Ann enamored herself in the feeling of his soft lips as Akira did the same with her rosy, tender lips.

The kiss did indeed bring Ann’s(and Akira's) spirits up as the rest of their boat ride was a pleasant one with promise for another to come again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inspiration struck and I took advantage of it! Let's see when it comes again lol. See you next time whenever that is.


End file.
